Cinco de Mayo Inspired Meal with Mariano’s

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I love mexican food. Maybe it’s because I’m half mexican, maybe it’s because I grew up and still live in “Little Mexico” as I affectionately call it. Whatever the reason, I just can’t get enough of my mexican favorites. I love having a reason to throw little get togethers at my house and Cinco de Mayo is a fabulous reason to have people over for food and drinks.

My only problem is that me and my boyfriend will both be out of town on May 5th. Our solution? Celebrate it a week early. Because hey, the food is still going to taste just as amazing. And I know that for a fact, because I bought all of my delicious ingredients from Mariano’s!

During my recent trip to Mariano’s, I was once again blow away by the amazing selection and awesome prices. I’m super duper picky when it comes to the beef and seafood that I buy. I usually don’t even have any in my home because it’s rare that I find any that are up to my standards. But that is never a problem at Mariano’s. The meat and seafood selection is out of this world. Not only do they carry a huge variety, but the meat is actually of excellent quality.

The seafood selection is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’m so skeptical of most place’s seafood because things just look kind of grey and old. But Mariano’s boasts a large variety of super fresh seafood. I was glad to get my hands on some tasty shrimp for my Cinco de Mayo Ceviche.

As I mentioned, I was able to buy all of my ingredients from Mariano’s. They have a big selection of hispanic foods and carry everything you could possibly need for a Cinco de Mayo meal. To give you an idea of what I think a proper Cinco de Mayo meal should look like I’ll give you a break down of my menu plan.

 

Cinco de Mayo Menu

Drinks: 

Agua de Horchata – this is a very common agua fresca (fresh water) from Mexico

Margaritas –you all know what this is! 

Dinner:

Skirt Steak Tacos cooked on the grill (in Mexico we would call this arrachera)

Spanish Rice

Shrimp Ceviche – this is raw shrimp “cooked” in lime juices

Guacamole

Dessert:

Spanish Flan – a type of baked custard

Extras:

Limes, Salsa Verde, Tostadas, Tortilla Chips, Tortillas, Chihuahua Cheese, Jarritos (spanish soda)

 

I know, I know… that sounds like a lot of food. But if you’re going to do it, you have to do it right. Plus, I couldn’t resist buying a ton of food when I went to #MyMarianos. The produce, the bakery, the meat & seafood… it all looks beautiful. It’s bright and the veggies actually smell fresh. The seafood area doesn’t smell like old fish, it smells like fresh catches. It always helps that I use my Mariano’s Rewards Card whenever I shop, too.

I also love shopping at Mariano’s because the people are so nice. The entire store has an amazing atmosphere. And even though we were so tired after shopping, we still decided to stay and eat some of the mouth watering hot foods that Mariano’s has to offer. I swear I never want to leave that store. It’s so much more than a grocery store, it’s a fun experience. If you’re interested in fun new experiences at Mariano’s you should head over to their community page which is full of new content and new ideas on a weekly basis.

Arrachera is such a delicious meat… if marinated and cooked properly. Luckily, it’s super easy to do. You just cut it into small strips (see the above picture) and cover it in lime juice and seasoning salt. You cook it to your desired temp and bam! You’re going to have yourself some ridiculously tasty Cinco de Mayo tacos.

Look at those bad boys cooking up. I loved the quality of arrachera from Mariano’s versus some of the regular joints around my house that sell it. And if you’re going to have a Cinco de Mayo themed meal, you just HAVE to have arrachera. These pieces were so juicy and delicious they didn’t need anything but a tortilla wrapped around them to be devoured.

One of my all time favorite spanish dishes is ceviche. I craved this stuff so much when I was pregnant. It’s usually made from raw white fish, but you can easily substitute tiny little salad shrimp if you’re not ready to eat this daring little dish. Some people can’t understand how the fish/shrimp is considered cooked. The lime juice really does ‘cook’ the fish/shrimp in only about 10 minutes. Ahh the wonderful world of food.

Now this stuff you cannot omit from your Cinco de Mayo festivities. Agua de Horchata is a staple in any mexican restaurant. It’s actually really easy and inexpensive to make and it’s so refreshing. My boyfriend doubted that I would be able to create his all-time favorite drink and have it taste halfway as good as the version from our favorite taco joint. And his doubts were totally unnecessary. Not only did he think my version was delicious, he actually preferred it over his old favorite. Plus, the recipe is so simple… even he can make it. 😉

I was able to create a super easy and delicious authentic mexican fare for my Cinco de Mayo festivities and I know you can too. I highly recommend you check out Mariano’s Fresh Market if you have one within a 100 mile radius. Seriously, they’re that good!

You should also make sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date with all their latest happenings. They always seem to have something cool happening at one of their stores. And they’re always expanding… maybe they’ll be in your city next!

How will you be celebrating Cinco de Mayo? I hope this post has given you some delicious ideas!